What I Think About Movies I've Seen

On Saturday, I went to a screening of all of the Oscar-nominated short films of 2010, broken up into two segments. The first segment contained the live-action shorts, and the second one contained the animated shorts. In this post, I'll summarize the live-action shorts and provide a brief opinion on each.

Kavi (6/10) -- This is an Indian film (in Hindi with English subtitles) about a boy named Kavi and his parents who are all forced to work for a man making bricks because they owe him money. While other boys his age are going to school and having fun, Kavi is working his hands raw and getting punished if he slacks off. This film was a pretty overt anti-slavery piece, and while I agree with the message I didn't really care for the in-your-face way in which it was presented.

The New Tenants (8/10) -- This is a Danish film (in English) about two guys who have just moved into an apartment and are quickly finding that the previous resident garnered a lot of different kinds of attention. It was very funny and entertaining, and had some very recognizable faces (including Kevin Corrigan and Vincent D'Onoifrio).

Miracle Fish (7/10) -- In this Australian film, a boy from a family of humble means feels rejected by everyone. One day at school, he goes to take a nap in the nurse's office and wakes up to find everyone gone. Despite being short, I felt that this film moved a little too slowly, and had some pretty glaring continuity errors. It wasn't bad, but could have been better.

The Door (7/10) -- This is an Irish film in Russian with English subtitles. It depicts families being hurriedly being forced out of their homes, and we later learn that the reason was because of the Chernobyl meltdown. It focuses on one family and the struggles that they have as a result of this disaster. I thought that this was a very solid film, albeit not a happy one.

Instead of Abracadabra (8/10) -- This Swedish movie (with English subtitles) depicts a Napoleon Dynamite type 25-year-old who lives with his parents and is aspiring to become a magician, despite his father's pleading to get a real job. When a woman moves in next door, he is intent on winning her over. Although this film may not have been the best from a cinematic perspective, it was definitely my favorite. It was very funny and thoroughly entertaining.